Rain on Haida Gwaii

Crossing Skidegate Inlet, yesterday

We are working in Haida Gwaii this week. At the Haida House Lodge at Tllaal on the east side of Graham Island, there is a dictionary of Haida words collected from Skidegate dialect speakers over the years. Last night I sat on the covered porch while the rain came down off the Hecate Strait and a southeasterly lashed the side of our cabin. This morning I had a look in the dictionary and there are dozens of words and expressions for rain. My blog doesn’t have the ability to write Haida orthography, so I’ll share some of the translations:

• Fine rain
• Fine rain coming down
• It is raining so hard the water gets calm
• One drop of rain less
• Misty
• It is raining small drops; crying on the way
• Sprinkling rain
• Heavy or big rain that hits the water and bounces up
• Rain that calms the sea
• Rain drops here and there
• Rains too much and everything is damp
• Starting to rain
• Starting to rain hard
• Rain that cleans
• Rain that is hard and noisy
• Rain that is easing off.
• Rain shower that goes by
• Rain squall coming that darkens the sky
• It is raining so hard the droplets are sticking together
• Snow turning to rain
• The clouds keep rubbing
• The rain that is pouring straight down